A Quiet Afternoon at White Diner

Caruso and the Cougar
Only in Bridgeport Blog by Lennie Grimaldi
WWW.FAIRFIELDWEEKLY.COM

If you heard the screaming on Saturday afternoon and wondered where it was coming from the near riot was over at White’s Diner on Boston Avenue. Sorry I missed it, but for those who were there it was a real hoot.
State Rep. Chris Caruso, licking his wounds after a tough primary loss to State Sen. Bill Finch, was still trying to squeeze his name onto the November ballot. A lunch meeting was set between the Great Caruso and Keith Cougar Rodgerson, mayoral candidate of the Bridgeport First party, for a meeting of the minds. After pleasantries were exchanged, Caruso presented his case for Rodgerson to vacate his spot for him.
Gee, Rodgerson responded, I was thinking instead of that maybe you should support me. The meeting immediately spiraled out of control. The state rep unloaded on the Harvard cub, calling him this, that and the other thing. The Cougar told us he was aghast at Caruso’s venomous name calling. “I never experienced anything like that in my life. People left the diner.”
To be fair to Caruso, the Cougar is a pretty deft baiter himself and the state rep took offense to the new guy on the block setting him up for the facial grapefruit. Caruso’s furnace blast followed. Listen, sonny, you were wiping snot on your sleeve when I was fighting filthy power plants! I’m paraphrasing, but that was the spirit of the state rep’s message.
Funny thing about the lunch meeting: the deadline for a certified party candidate dropping out for a replacement, according to a spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office, was Friday at 5 p.m., a little fact that Rodgerson already knew, but didn’t reveal to Caruso. Cougar couldn’t give up his slot even if he wanted to. (Caruso’s final hope is court intervention or a long shot write-in candidacy.)
As Caruso was walking out the door, he barked, according to Rodgerson, “Now you can call the Fairfield Weekly and tell them all about this.” Well, Chris, the Cougar obliged!
(Caruso court update: Arguments in Caruso's primary challenge are expected to end on Monday.)